Forbidden Love (HIATUS)
by xxTheTruMan196
Summary: Marcus Sohl was a member of Clan Ordo and a proud Mandalorian, who lived to uphold the traditions and culture of his people. But he eventually finds himself unsatisfied, and seeks out a new way of life. And when he crosses paths with a descendant of Revan himself, the one who all Mandalorians hate and despise, the unthinkable happens... he falls in love. (SHANIVERSE SIDE STORY)
1. Chapter 1 - Life Changes

**_Author's Note: _**_There are a few words spoken in Mando'a here, to which I've provided __a translation for at the bottom of the page._

* * *

_**Concord Dawn - Mandalore Sector**_

**3rd person POV…**

In he local cantina of one of Concord Dawn's towns, an assortment of people were gathered to drink, gamble, or conduct more shady business. Like most cantina's in the Outer Rim, it was nothing more than the typical meeting place for scum, bounty hunters, and other criminals alike.

A trio of Twi'lek women danced at one side of the pub for the entertainment of onlookers, who'd either hoot and jeer or throw some credits their way.

Other bartenders simply sat in their booths to drink, some gambling, and others just giving any passerby a cold glare. A joyous uproar arose from one table as a gambler collected all of he money in the center, laughing in delight.

"Looks like I win again boys," the weequay gambler declares smugly, pulling the winnings to him.

"You didn't win that! You cheated!" a duros man exclaims, slamming a fist down.

"Says who, bug-eyes?" the weequays jeers. "You're nothing more than a common smuggler."

"Smuggler? I'll show you, you scum!" the duros snaps.

He leaps over the table and instantly goes for several punches. At once the bar erupts into chaos as the duros and weequay roll over each other, brawling angrily and sending fists flying. Drinks are thrown, people are shoved, and several more fistfights erupt between people. The dancers instantly scramble out of the way and move to the back with yelps of fright. The bartender instantly takes notice and tries shouting to quell the violence, but much to his frustration nobody gets calm.

The doorway to the bar then slides open, allowing a gust of wind to blow inside. All movement stills as everyone gets a look at the Mandalorian standing at the entrance of the bar.

The Mandalorian, for he could be nothing else, stands silently in the doorway for a moment, surveying the room. He's wearing armor with a gold and black style trimming, several scratch marks and smudges indicating signs of battle. Instead of the typical T-shaped visor, he had a simple horizontal visor, with a breathing apparatus attached to the bottom. Across his shoulders is a gray strap that goes down to his waist, carrying a single blaster pistol of Mandalorian design.

He then moves into the cantina with a powerful stride, sitting down at the bar up front. Seeing that he was seated, activity in the bar returns to normal as the fights quickly come to a stop, nobody wanting to risk accidentally hitting the Mandalorian.

After sitting down, the Mandalorian took off his helmet to reveal a rather handsome human man, looking to be in his mid-to-late 20s. He had a chiseled jaw and well-trimmed beard, dark brown hair and hazel colored eyes. He sets the helmet on the countertop and calls over the bartender, who was an Ithorian male.

"_Can I get you something sir?" _the bartender asks through his translator.

"Juma Juice," he requests.

The bartender pours the juice into a glass and then handsit to him, moving off to serve another customer. The Mandalorian takes a sip of the drink, placing it down just as a female Twi'lek with red skin comes sauntering over with a sway of her hips.

"Hey there handsome," she says with a sly smirk, stopping beside him.

He gives her a look but doesn't comment, going back to his drink.

"How about you and me go somewhere private and get to know each other hmm?" she asks with a seductive purr, leaning closer.

"Not interested," he replies offhandedly.

"Oh come on," she whines, slinking her arms around his shoulders and forcing him to turn towards her. "We can have all the fun we want, you and me. Maybe something more…"

As she talks, she slides her hands slowly down his arms and back, moving her lips closer to his mouth. However, he finally grabs her wrist to firmly stop her advances and holds it up between them, glaring at her. Clutched in her fingers was a sack of his credits, and she widens her eyes.

"I said, _not interested_," he warns her, ripping his credits out of her grasp.

The Twi'lek stumbles back nervously before scoffing, holding her head high and stomping off to find someone else to extort. He watches her go with narrowed eyes before turning back to his Juma Juice.

* * *

Finished in the bar, the Mandalorian walks back outside into the cool weather with his helmet held under one arm, ready to get on his business. As he's moving away from the cantina, an outspoken voice gets his attention.

"Well, is that not one Marcus Sohl?"

Marcus sighs, coming to a stop and turning around to see a familiar face standing feet away against the wall of the cantina. The man is also a clear Mandalorian, based on the orange and dark silvery colored armor he's wearing. He's a couple years older than Marcus, and also bears a close enough resemblance to him despite having very dark, almost black, hair.

"Raman," he greets dryly. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing much, just catching up with my little brother," Raman replies, sauntering over with a grin on his face.

"I'm not 'little' anymore Raman," Marcus sighs in exasperation.

"Guess not. You've already got a few beauties lining up to kiss you in the bar while stealing your credits," he comments carelessly.

Marcus rolls his eyes, figuring out what he meant and that he saw the whole thing with that extorting Twi'lek and continues his walk, Raman coming up beside him.

"Maybe you'll even get yourself a jetpack at some point for such valor," Raman continues with a drawl.

"Oh you bet I will," Marcus states firmly.

"Oh a little tense are we?" he replies teasingly, moving forwards to show off the jetpack attached to his orange and silver armor. He spreads his hands out with a snarky grin. "I bet you were wishing you were me right now."

"Yeah, as if I need a jetpack to beat you up," he retorts.

"You wish!" Raman shoots back.

"Hey, you may be older, but who's the one that got to the top of the class in hand-to-hand combat?!" Marcus states triumphantly.

Raman's face falls to irritation, and another voice chimes in with a teasing laugh in his direction.

"Oh kriff, that has got to hurt!" the female voice laughs.

Marcus looks over to see his older brother's girlfriend, Aathias Doojorr, skipping over to sling an arm around Raman's shoulders. She wore armor with dark red and white trimming, and had a head of flowing blonde hair.

"You boys keep it up, and I'll end up dying from laughter," she jokes.

"Oh is that so darling?" Raman retorts with a raised eyebrow.

"I'd listen to her if I were you brother," Marcus says with a whistle.

"Oh shut it Marcus," he scoffs.

There's silence for a moment before all three burst out into quiet laughter, smiles on their faces as they walked with each other to their ships. Passerby's along the way made sure to give the Mandalorians a wide berth, not willing to be entangled with the fearsome warriors.

"Anyways, what are you doing out here anyways?" Raman asks.

"Just wanted to get out, I guess," he shrugs carelessly. "Why were you following me?"

Raman and Aathias both come to a stop and give each other a serious look before facing Marcus, who narrows his eyes in confusion.

"Vi're ba'slanar Mandya'yaim, Marcus/_We're leaving Mandalore, Marcus_," Aathias says grimly.

Marcus blinks in confusion and bewilderment, unable to comprehend what he was hearing.

"Meg? Tion'jor!?/_What? Why?!_" he demands.

"Count Drezden is having the Clan move to Dxun, where we'll reclaim the Mandalorian Outpost there," Raman explains with a confirming nod.

"I don't understand... why would he have us do that?" Marcus asks, confused and lost.

"Because of her_ 'royal highness'_ Kryze," Aathias scoffs with a scowl on her face, crossing her arms.

"...Duchess Satine and her so-called 'New Mandalorians' either want us to drop our culture and traditions for what she believes to be the 'new Mandalorian ideal,' or leave," Raman states with a frown of distaste.

"Wh-what?! That's ridiculous!" he exclaims incredulously.

"_Aruetyc di'kut_," Aathias mutters.

"We fought for her in the Civil War, paid with our very own blood for her against Death Watch so that she could be the leader of Mandalore. And this is how she repays us?" he continues angrily. "I personally helped her and those two Jedi bodyguards evade a pair of bounty hunters!"

"_Ni susulur gar vod_," Raman says sincerely. "But the whole of Mandalore thinks her way is better, and now they want us out. Apparently we're 'too violent' for their tastes."

"Absolute rubbish. Any one of those raving lunatics doesn't understand what us Mandalorian's are all about. We're warriors! Not some peace lovers! I'm willing to bet she's just a plant by the Jedi to get rid of us!" Aathias declares.

"Seriously?" Marcus asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Makes sense doesn't it? They send her in to gain power for 'peace,' they send bodyguards to protect her, then she gets the position and starts preaching the same garbage they do," she explains with another scoff of disgust. "Hypocrites, the lot of them. They preach peace, yet just jump into the fray with their lightsabers wherever they go."

"Well, can't be more of a _di'kut_ than Revan," he comments.

"Like that's supposed to be a compliment," she retorts, rolling her eyes. "This is a nightmare..."

"So there's no getting out of this?" Marcus asks Raman seriously.

"Unfortunately, no," he sighs grimly in response. "They've already exiled a few of the other clans to Concordia, and now they've turned on us. The only thing Count Drezden could do was let us have our own freedoms away from her control."

"I can't believe this..." he mutters, running a hand through his hair to convey stress. "What are we going to do now?"

"I'm not sure," Raman admits.

"I'll get our ship started baby," Aathias murmurs to him.

She gives him a quick peck on the cheek and, he shares a smile with her, then walks away down the street towards the docking bay. The two brothers both watch him go before turning to face each other, and Raman lays a hand on Marcus's shoulder.

"I know things are tough right now, but I'm sure we can get things sorted out if we stay together, just like always," he says reassuringly.

Despite his anger and sense of loss, Marcus still smiles back at him.

"Yeah, like always," he replies fondly.

Marcus and Raman share a hug with each other, grinning in a way only brothers could. A small grunt has them looking over to see an Ithorian man looking over at them weirdly.

"_Copaani mirshmure'cye, vod?_" Raman demands threateningly.

The Ithorian quickly scurries off in fright.

* * *

_The wide open plains were alight with red and yellow laserfire. Mandalorians of several different clans were scattered across the battlefield, yelling and charging forwards into the firefight, many taking to the skies on their jetpacks. The air was filled with dust and debris, making it even harder to see through the already darkened sky of late evening._

_With his helmet on, Marcus ducks underneath a burst of laser fire and expertly takes out his attacker with a quick pistol shot. He looks up to the side and spots two more enemies approaching, and leaps to his feet with his blaster at the ready. Both Mandalorians comes charging in with their blaster rifles, but Marcus ducks to the side and raises his arm, firing a shot into the chest of one, and then spinning around to elbow another in his helmet. As the Mandalorian falls to the ground, he carelessly aims his blaster and fills him with several laser wounds._

_He and his clan, Clan Ordo, were fighting against the Death Watch to help assist Satine Kryze escape from Mandalore. It's become too dangerous for her to remain in the current climate, which is why they were currently helping to get her out. Spotting his brother nearby, Marcus rushes over and blasts another Death Watch soldier who attempts to blindside him without even looking._

_"Raman! Raman, how's the evac?!" he exclaims._

_"She's out of the city! They're just trying to get her to a transport to fly out!" he replies loudly._

_"In this?! They'd never make it through the chaos, Death Watch will shoot her down!" Marcus shouts incredulously._

_"The Jedi said they had it covered! The Count has gone along with it!" Raman yells back helplessly._

_"That's not good enough!" he says in exasperation._

_The pair then duck behind a large mound as a rocket blows up mere feet away from their position. Keeping Marcus back, Raman looks out from their cover and spots a trio of Death Watch soldiers flying in their direction, the two on the sides priming their own jetpack rockets._

_"Blast! Move!" he exclaims, shoving Marcus away._

_They both leap away from their cover as two more rockets come slamming into the ground beside them, sending them tumbling across the dirt. Marcus groans in pain from the blast and looks up to see the three soldiers landing, rushing towards them with blasters raised. Just as he was about to whip out his own blaster in response, a green lightsaber flung through the air slices one soldier across the chest, and he falls down with a cry. The lightsaber swings around back to its owner, and Marcus looks over to see a two Jedi running forwards, Duchess Satine Kryze with them, as the older one catches his blade in the air._

_The remaining Death Watch soldiers switch their targets and fire at the Jedi, but the pair both work to block the laser blasts, the younger Jedi protecting Satine. Raman wastes no time in getting to his feet and charging the soldiers, punching one in the head and getting into a brawling match, where he quickly overpowers him with furious punches and kicks. Marcus gets back to his feet and also fires on the third, shooting him once in the gut and then in the helmet, where he collapses to the ground. Incapacitating his enemy, Raman then shoots him dead before focusing on the three newcomers._

_"Good timing," he comments._

_"Good thing I spotted that in time," the older Jedi replies._

_Raman nods at him before looking towards Satine. "Are you alright Duchess?"_

_"I-I'm well," Satine manages to say, flinching at every explosion with horrified eyes. "This is awful!"_

_"Master, we must get going. The Death Watch are getting closer," the younger Jedi urges, who Marcus deduces must be an apprentice._

_"Of course Obi-Wan," the older Jedi replies._

_"With all due respect, Master Jedi, how are you planning to take a ship out of this battle zone? They'll shoot you down in seconds," Marcus says, frowning underneath his helmet._

_"Well, I'll just have to trust the Force then, shall I?" the Master replies with a small grin._

_Marcus and Raman both glance at each other, not needing to see the others face to know they both had looks of confusion and doubt._

_"Well, come along then, both of you! Time is short!" the Master urges, moving forwards quickly._

_"Yes Master Jinn," Obi-Wan replies._

_He grasps Satine's hand as they run along after Qui-Gon, taking care to avoid the ferocious aspects of battle on their way towards its outskirts. Marcus and Raman quickly revert their attention back to the chaos as another large group of Death Watch soldiers come running in their direction with war cries, intent on getting too Satine. They both quickly ready themselves for the coming battle, prepared to keep these lunatic back long enough for the Duchess to escape._

_Raman gets into a fighting stance with his Mandalorian vambraces while Marcus holsters his blaster in favor of bringing out two vibroblades, which crackle to life with red energy..._

* * *

_**Sundari - Mandalore**_

Marcus walks through the doorway into his housing unit, placing his helmet on a countertop. He stares at it for a moment, wiping off a smudge with his finger as he remembers the day he encountered the two Jedi who were escorting the Duchess off world. He, Raman and several others were assigned to go with them to help keep the Duchess safe, but the circumstances of the battle saw him and his brother unable to rendezvous at the ship, while the rest of the troop died before they could make it.

Footsteps from the stairs get his attention, and he looks up with a small smile to see his parents walking down the stairs.

"Marcus, there you are!" his mother, Ravella Sohl, greets happily.

_"Su cuy'gar buir,"_ he replies with a smile, hugging her.

_"Jate at ret' ad,"_ his father, Je'ric Sohl, adds.

He hugs his father as well and then separates, looking at them both. Outside of their Mandalorian armor his parents look like any typical husband and wife, although his father was certainly muscled and very strong, while his mother was more defined and graceful. However behind their outward appearances they were both among the top warriors in their clan. Ravella was deadly and precise, being a very flexible fighter with the body fit for an assassin, while Je'ric was big and powerful, one punch enough to knock a fully grown man out for at least half an hour.

"How are you guys doing?" Marcus asks.

"Oh, we've both been doing just fine. Your father here has recently gotten himself a promotion to being Count Drezden's top advisor," Ravella reveals cheerfully.

Marcus widens his eyes in shock, staring at Je'ric in amazement. Drezden is the Count and leader of Clan Ordo, and while he's a very kind and reasonable man, he's very tough on having people he knows will be efficient in their work and loyal to the clan. To be one of his advisors, let alone the top advisor, is a huge honor.

"What?! No way!" Marcus breathes out.

"It would seem so Marcus," Je'ric says with a chuckle. "Count Drezden was very impressed with my performance during the civil war, especially for my idea to ambush the Death Watch on Concordia."

"Well, congratulations father, that's great," he says happily.

"Well, sit down, sit down!" Ravella suggests, gesturing towards the living room. The family sits down on the couches, and she leans forwards curiously. "What about you Marcus? What brought you back here?"

Marcus sighs, his good mood quenched. "I heard about what happened, how Duchess Satine is exiling us from Mandalore."

Much like their son, Je'ric and Ravella lost their happy expressions and became more glum and bitter in an instant.

"It's a real mess, what she's been doing lately," Je'ric scoffs bitterly.

"Very unfortunate," Ravella agrees sadly. "I still can't understand why she would do such a thing. Sure, she is very much against violence, there's nothing wrong with that. But to exile us simply because we're warriors ourselves is unbelievable!"

"Ugh, tell me about it," Marcus sighs. "So Dxun huh?"

"Yes. There was an old Mandalorian Outpost there set up during the Mandalorian Wars that we can use as our camp. The wildlife there will also give us a good exercise in the absence of the typical fighting and contests we have with the other clans," Je'ric explains.

"Well that sounds stupid," he murmurs. "We shouldn't even have to leave Mandalore anyways."

"Marcus, none of us like it any more than you do, but there's nothing we can do about it now," Ravella says regretfully. "Not without starting another war with the Galactic Republic."

"Well there should be something we can do!" he retorts irritably. "We're Mandalorian's, warriors by blood! Not some camping beast hunters."

"Duchess Satine isn't giving us any other option," Je'ric states grimly. "I'm afraid that unless we decide to switch to her 'peaceable' ways, beast hunters are what we must be. At the very least those beasts can gather a good enough profit on the market. Who better to capture valuable hides from a monstrous animal than a Mandalorian?"

Marcus scowls but doesn't say anything, know his father is right. If there's nothing else his father said they can do to remain with Mandalore in spite of Satine's rule as Duchess, then he knows there isn't. Count Drezden and his father would've fought their hardest against the Duchess's wishes, but it eventually ended in vain.

He glances over at his helmet with a bitter expression, not liking the way things are going.

* * *

_**Nayli City - Chandrila**_

The market was filled with people bustling to and from several shops and stores. Walking through the busy streets was a young woman in her early to mid twenties, coming to a stop in front of a shop filled with fruits and vegetables. The woman in question wore a red and gray outfit with brown boots, accenting a head of flowing blonde hair, a rounded face, and stunning blue eyes. Several lust-filled eyes turned her way, but she ignored them in favor of looking over the food on sale.

"Any particular choice miss?" the old lady at the stand asks.

"Could I have a basket of Jogan and Blumfruit please?" she asks politely.

The old lady obliges, placing several of the requested fruits into a basket and setting it on the counter, a hand held out expectantly.

"That'll be a dozen credits," she states.

The woman hands over the credits and then takes the fruit basket, holding it under one arm as she makes her way through the streets. As she starts to leave the bustling crowds of the market for a less populated street, a scoundrel of a man steps out to confront her, a sly grin on his face.

"How's it going darling?" he drawls with a smile.

"Just fine, thank you," she replies politely. "If you'll excuse me though, I must be on my way."

She attempts to walk by, but the man gets in her way again, making noises of disapproval.

"Now hang on a moment, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. What's the hurry?" he asks with mock hurt. "Come on girly, what's your name?"

Already knowing his type to be a drunk scoundrel, the woman discretely waves her hand with a disappointed sigh, looking up at him with a firm gaze.

"You will let me be on my way, and reconsider your life choices," she says softly.

The man's drunk grin fades and he straightens up with a blank expression.

"I will let you be on your way, and reconsider my life decisions," he repeats.

With that being said, the scoundrel turns away from her and starts walking down the street off to who knows where. She sighs again, not comfortable with using the Force, but continues on her way nonetheless. Most people with her gifts would've been sent to the Jedi Temple to train as a child, but she was a bit more different, having grown up in a much different environment from the Jedi all because of her name: Lara Shan.

...Shan. A direct living descendant of the ancient Jedi and Sith Lord, Revan, himself. Not that anyone else in the galaxy knows the significance of her lineage, of course.

Just over a thousand years ago, there were many people all baring the same name and blood connection to Revan, being a prominent family in terms of Force users. However, the Sith Lord known as Darth Bane decided to wipe out all of Revan's descendants to prove his superiority, killing every last blood relative... all except one. Since then, the surviving Shan's have remained in hiding to preserve their bloodline, with their name soon falling out of the pages of history. Revan, and other prominent Jedi such as Satele Shan were disconnected from the name, with the significance of it being lost.

Now, Lara is the only one apart from her father who still shares that same blood connection to the lost legacy of the Shan's.

Having walked through Nayli's streets for several minutes, Lara soon returns to her apartment in one of the poorer districts of the city. Opening the door, she moves inside the apartment and sets the basket of fruit on the kitchen counter, grabbing a Jogan and heading upstairs to one of the two bedrooms. Inside the room she greets her father, who was lying down on the bed as usual.

"Hi Dad," she says with a smile. "I'm back."

"Hello sweetheart," her father, Claynel Shan, greets.

"I got you something," she tells him, offering up the Jogan fruit.

Claynel sits himself up in the bed with some effort, using the wall as a backrest, and grimacing from his movements. Once he's sitting up the whole way he smiles at Lara and then takes the fruit with a gracious nod. Lara also pulls up a chair and sits down beside him.

"Thank you dear. You know you don't have to keep buying me these treats," he reminds her, taking a small bite.

"But it's your favorite Dad, and it's the least I could do," she replies with a sad smile.

Just over two years ago, Lara lost her mother to a deadly disease. Because of their poor financial circumstances, they were unable to acquire the proper help she needed in order to overcome the illness, and so passed away. Now fate seems to be against them once more, as her father is now suffering from another kind of illness. It's not nearly as terrible or as threatening as the disease that killed her mother, but it's left Claynel crippled and weak.

"I know Lara, but you shouldn't worry about me so much. You should continue on with your life, find a successful career path, have a family of your own," he insists.

"And leave you behind? I can't do that," she replies in disagreement.

"There's not much left for me to teach you Lara," he tells her with a soft chuckle. "Certainly not when I'm like this. Not when you're ready yourself."

"You know that's not what I mean," Lara reprimands him softly.

"I understand Lara," he says with a sad sigh. "Just... try and think about it. At the very least, you should know that you can't help me if you can't help yourself."

Lara manages a small upturn of her lips when he says that and rolls her eyes. "I know Dad."

"Why not try working at the medcenter further uptown? You've certainly got the heart and talent!" he suggests.

"If you're referring to Force healing, may I remind you that you're the one who said not to use the Force so publicly?" Lara asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh come on, you'll do great there!" he retorts with a chuckle. "Like I said, you've got the heart! The Force doesn't give you that!"

"I guess you're right, as usual," she replies, smiling in amusement.

"That's my girl," he says.

Lara smiles to herself with a thoughtful look on her face, and then abruptly stands up from the chair and heads over to the door.

"Where are you going?" Claynel asks curiously.

"To the medcenter!" Lara replies, grinning at him. "You said I should get a job there, right?"

Claynel laughs at her retreating form, and she grabs her bag on the way out the door.

* * *

**TRANSLATIONS:**

_aruetyc di'kut_ \- traitorous idiot

_Copaani mirshmure'cye, vod? _\- Are you looking for a smack in the face, mate?

_ni susular gar vod _\- I hear you brother

_di'kut _\- idiot

_Su cuy'gar buir _\- Hello mother.

_Jate at ret' ad _\- Good to see you son.


	2. Chapter 2 - Attempting to Settle

**_Author's Note: _**_There are a few words spoken in Mando'a here, to which I've provided __a translation for at the bottom of the page._

* * *

FIVE MONTHS LATER...

* * *

**_Dxun - Jungle Moon of Onderon_**

**3rd person POV...**

The forest is quiet, the silence only being disturbed by insects chirping and birds whistling as the first rays of sunlight peek over the horizon, signifying dawn. Within the shadows of the trees however that means nothing, the canopy blocking out much of the light.

The mostly quiet atmosphere is suddenly disturbed roughly as a large, armored animal charged through the brush, skidding to a stop and tearing up the ground. The animal was huge with thick scales colored a deep red, sharp claws, and short spikes along running along its its back: a zakkeg. It narrows its beady eyes with a snarl and looks around, sniffing the air. It then turns to its side upon smelling its prey and growls, preparing to charge.

Several feet away, Marcus watches tensely as the zakkeg paws the ground, stalking slowly in his direction.

"That's it... that's it you overgrown lizard," he murmurs.

Marcus can see through the darkness with his helmet's night vision, while the zakkeg relies more on smell and hearing. It lets out a roar and then charges forwards. Marcus waits, his body completely tense, and then moves into action.

He quickly leaps to the side right as the zakkeg barrels past where he was. At the same time Raman and Aathias appear out of the brush on their jet packs, firing their blaster pistols. The zakkeg roars in pain as the bolts hit its side, although they don't do much damage aside from scorch its scales. Snarling angrily, the zakkeg stops its charge and whips around to face one of them, jumping into the air.

The zakkeg swipes its claws at Raman, who barely evades it with a dash of his jet pack. Marcus gets to his feet and observes the situation, thinking about what to do.

"Kriff, this thing's hide is tough!" Raman says.

"Try shooting the eyes!" Aathias suggests.

Marcus pulls out his blaster and moves forwards while they both switch their aim towards the zakkeg's face. The zakkeg flinches as several shots get near its eyes and then roars at them angrily. Marcus let's off a shot from his blaster and hits it, but just narrowly misses one of its eyes.

Raman then flies forwards, going low to the ground, and then drops a small grenade at the zakkeg's feet. As he passes it however it swipes out a claw and manages to smack his jetpack, sending him tumbling across the ground with a pained cry. The zakkeg moves to charge at him but the grenade then explodes, throwing it on its back with a roar of pain. Aathias takes the opportunity to shoot it straight through one eye, causing it even more pain.

"Think we've got it now?" Raman asks Marcus with a groan, getting to his feet.

"I don't know, it's still angry," Marcus replies uncertainly.

As Marcus moves in to try and deliver a fatal wound, the zakkeg angrily lashes out with its tail in a wild arc, catching him unprepared and slamming him against a tree. Aathias tried hitting the other eye, but the zakkeg leaps into the air and snaps its jaws; she barely avoids the bite, but it still manages to snatch her jetpack. It lands on the ground, thrashing Aathias around like a rag doll while she cries out in alarm, and then throws her away with a snarl.

Raman stands up fully, only to yelp in surprise as Aathias slams into him, sending them both tumbling across the dirt. She groans in pain, dizzy and unstable from being thrashed around, and presses a hand to her head.

"You alright?" Raman mutters.

"Yeah... turned my jetpack into complete _duse_ though," she says.

"Great... now please get off of me," he groans.

With them both temporarily incapacitated the zakkeg stomps towards them with an angry snarl, preparing to tear them apart.

Regaining his senses, Marcus narrows his eyes in frustration and annoyance and tosses his blaster away. He pulls out his two vibroblades and lets them crackle to life with red energy, and runs forwards. With a determined yell he jumps into the air as high as he can and lands on the zakkeg's back, stabbing with his blades.

The zakkeg roars in pain and begins to thrash and buck around, trying to throw him off. Marcus manages to hold on however, using his vibroblades to stabilize himself, and continues stabbing it. A wild thrashing leap from the zakkeg throws him around, and he slides off of its back before holding himself on with a blade stabbed into its shoulder. Taking his other vibroblade, he grapples onto the zakkeg's neck and then thrusts it into its brain, piercing the tough scales and thick skull.

The zakkeg's roar is cut off and it gargles, swaying unsteadily on its feet before collapsing. Marcus is thrown off as it hits the ground, rolling onto his back and laying there, taking several deep breaths.

"_Ki'ra_... it's like playing _get'shuk_, but worse," he groans.

"You're the genius who rode its back like a complete _dinii_," Raman scoffs. He stands up off the ground and helps Aathias get to her feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Takes more than a rabid beast to beat me," she replies. "Sorry for hitting you."

"It's fine. I'm tough," Raman says confidently.

"So nice of you to notice brother," Marcus adds, also standing up.

He collects his vibroblades, pulling one out of the zakkeg's brain, which causes it to switch. Cleaning the blades against a tree trunk, he turns them off and then places them back onto his belt, facing the others.

"So... who do we call to transport this thing?" he asks.

"I'll take care of it," Raman says. "I'm sure Count Drezden will be excited to see this."

"I hope so. That thing was harder to kill than I thought," Aathias remarks.

"All thanks to me of course," Marcus points out with a mock bow.

"Sure, whatever you say, Marcus," Raman scoffs dismissively.

"Aw, I think you did great!" Aathias congratulates, her voice sweet and adoring.

"Thanks. At least someone appreciates my talents," Marcus replies, looking pointedly at Raman.

"_Biai yirhaou gar gev gotal'ur nari bat ner b'ami'r_," he shoots back.

Raman brings a hand to his helmet and strides off, opening a communication back to base camp, calling to inform them of their hunt being successful. While he does so, Aathias stands next to Marcus with her arms crossed, glancing up at him.

"Don't worry, he's just being jealous," she reassured him.

"'Course he is," Marcus replies, amused.

"You got a little dirt on your helmet," she notices, reaching up to wipe it away.

"Hey! Hands off!" Raman exclaims, moving back over.

Aathias finishes wiping the dirt off of Marcus's helmet and saunters off, hands held up in sarcastic submission. Marcus laughs at the whole thing, rolling his eyes under his helmet.

"Someone's feeling anxious," he teases.

"Well I'm not about to have my fiancé stolen by my little brother," he states firmly.

"Oh relax _cyar'ika_, no one's 'stealing' me," Aathias says sarcastically. "So is someone coming by to help?"

"Yeah, they're sending a small transport," Raman tells them.

"Great, because I'm ready to get some actual sleep," Marcus remarks.

* * *

**_Nayli City - Chandrila_**

Lara hustled through the hallways with a few other nurses, pulling along a repulsorlift-stretcher. A rodian man was lying on top of it and covered in white sheets, barely conscious. He worked at a factory nearby and was caught in a machine accident, badly damaging his right leg.

"Alright people, lets get him in here!" Dr. Zirash orders, holding open the door to the operating room.

Pushing the rodian into the operating room, Lara works with two others to lift him out of the stretcher and onto the operating platform, keeping heavy sheets around his mangled leg. Lara avoids looking at it directly, a bit sensitive to the sight, but works with quick efficiency.

When the rodian is settled, several medical droids move forwards and begin preparing the equipment, while Dr. Zirash approaches, gloves, coat, and everything else he needs already on and cleaned.

"Is there a possibility of saving his leg?" Lara asks him.

A quick glance has Dr. Zirash shaking his head in response.

"No, it's far too mangled. We'll have to amputate," he states grimly.

Lara glances at the rodian regretfully but nods, backing away with the other nurses.

"I would recommend a deep anesthetic first, doctor," one of the medical droids suggests.

"I know, I know," he replies in exasperation. "One of you get the anesthetic ready."

She does so without hesitation, grabbing a syringe and a capsule containing the medicine, filling it up. Approaching the rodian she carefully sticks the needle into his leg, just above the injury. Another nurse works to apply a mask to his face that will filter a medicine to keep him unconscious during the surgery.

"Heart rate lowering, Doctor. Patient is stable," one of the droids reports.

"Good. Let's get to work," Dr. Zirash says with a nod. "Lara, please inform the family about the situation."

Lara glances at the rodian worriedly for a moment, but nods her head in understanding. She leaves the room as Zirash, the droids, and the rest of the nurses prepare to begin to surgery. Pulling off her mask and gloves, she drops them into a disposal bin just outside and makes her way through the hallways towards the hospital's waiting room.

Upon arriving she calls out the names of those affiliated with him, and they come hustling over worriedly. They spoke Huttese instead of Basic or Roduse, so Lara switched to communicate with them.

_"How is my husband?"_ the woman asks.

_"The important thing is that he'll live ma'am,"_ Lara assures her, although sad. _"Unfortunately the accident damaged his leg beyond repair, so we have to amputate."_

She gasps in horror, holding her two young children close, who also look up with wide, nervous eyes.

_"No! Is there nothing you can do?!"_ she pleads.

_"I'm sorry ma'am. I wish there was though, really," _Lara replies in regret.

The woman breaks down in tears, causing the children to become more anxious and upset as well. It tears at Lara's heart to hear them all so upset, not only hearing and seeing them but also feeling their pain through the Force as well.

* * *

When the surgery was finished, Lara and her fellow nurses were assigned to help clean up the operating room and make sure the patient was stable.

Lara was checking on the rodian's pulse and blood pressure, and also making sure the bandages were wrapped tightly and securely around the stump of his leg. While doing so she glances up to see if her coworkers were looking, and then focuses back down on his leg.

Raising her hand up, she gently touches his stump and closes her eyes, focusing on the Force. Lara allows some of her energy to flow into the Rodian, helping to heal his injury. After a few moments she separates from him, having accelerated his healing process so that it would no longer hurt him, and that he would not experience any phantom pain.

One of the mirialan nurses, Telleen, then brings a wheelchair into the room, and Dr. Zirash steps in right after. Lara quickly removes her hand from where it was hovering over the rodian's leg, knowing that Dr. Zirash would freak out.

"Once he wakes up we'll get him settled in the chair, and bring him out to his family," he informs them.

* * *

Lara watches, with a bit of sadness, as the rodian man is reunited with his family, sitting in a wheelchair. His wife hugs him while his children stand around him, bewildered and uneasy.

After they left, Lara gathers up her things and prepares to leave herself, her shift done for the day. While she's walking down the hallway one of the surgeons, a blue-skinned twi'lek man named Hamu, comes up beside her.

"So you got any plans tonight?" he asks.

"Cutting right to the chase, huh?" Lara asks sarcastically, giving him a look.

"I'm a very direct guy," he shrugs. "So?"

"Sorry, but I'm busy. I need to take care of my father," she explains regretfully.

"Seriously? I thought he was doing fine," Hamu says, frowning.

"No, it's still the same. But it's hard for him to get around the house now," she explains.

"Haven't you considered taking him to a doctor?" he says.

"I don't have the money to get him treatment," she replies.

"Oh come, you've got a good salary; you even got a new place away from the previous dump you were in!" he insists incredulously.

"Being a nurse doesn't pay as much as you'd think Hamu, and I'm the only income we've got. I'm paying for the house, food, appliances, transportation, everything. It doesn't help with the Republics seeming favoritism towards corporations. And now they've upped the taxes!" Lara informs him, a little frustrated. "Besides, my father and I know what the problem is with his health, and there's no way to help it get better."

Hamu looks at her sympathetically, and pats her shoulder.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Really," he says sincerely. "Still, I think you should afford yourself some free time. All you seem to do is work, and never take care of yourself. I'm sure your father can handle one night by himself, right?"

"Maybe," she shrugs uncertainly.

"Come on; tonight at the city park. Go for a snack, stroll around for a bit," he suggests. "And I'll pay!"

Lara's lips curl into a small smile at his suggestion, the idea sounding nice for herself, and she nods her head.

"Alright... but no more than an hour!" she says firmly.

"It's a deal!" he says, grinning at her.

* * *

**_Mandalorian Outpost - Dxun_**

The new home of Clan Ordo, after their exile from Mandalore, was situated on the sight of an old outpost used by ancient Mandalorians nearly 4,000 years ago.

Situated in the jungle and protected by tall mountains, the old outpost had several large buildings and structures spanning across a flat plain. The old and abandoned structures were mostly covered by nature during their lack of use, but Clan Ordo cleared out all of the invasive plants and trees, refurbishing the buildings to the best of their ability so that they appeared much newer, and were functional.

A wide grassy field sat near the entrance of the outpost, surrounded by a few of the more fancy and intricate buildings. Most people walked through the field on their ways to other places, crossing pathways laid out for them. It's also where the clan held special gatherings, a large fire pit set up at one end for holding bonfires.

Marcus, Raman, Aathias, and a team of Mandalorians arrived at the outpost with their transport, hovering through the courtyard on their way to the facility that dealt with large creatures. They would cut up large animals and determine their worth for potential buyers in nearby systems or across the galaxy; people from Onderon bought things from them to sell in their own markets.

"You guys certainly hit it big today," Javoni remarks.

"Thanks. We did our best," Aathias replies, pulling off her helmet in order to straighten up her hair.

"I can't believe you guys managed to take down a zakkeg just by yourselves. These things are hard to kill!" Sedriv says.

"You know how much their hide is worth?" Logan asks them.

"A lot?" Raman replies.

"Oh yeah. They've got really tough hides, so it's valuable," he tells them.

"Sounds fun," Marcus comments.

He and Raman both pull off their helmets, the sun now high enough to provide some light to their surroundings, and Marcus scratches his head with a tired sigh.

"I don't know about you guys, but I need to sleep," he says.

"No kidding," Raman adds, and Aathias nods in agreement.

"You guys were up all night," Sedriv remarks.

"We were trying to track that thing all night and get it to follow us," Aathias explains.

"Well we can take care of the zakkeg if you guys want to head off," Jovani says.

"Thanks," Marcus says in gratitude.

"You'll definitely need some rest. The tournament is tonight," Logan reminds them.

"Oh great," he mutters.

"Why so glum brother? Worried you'll get spanked this time?" Raman teases.

"Tell that to my fists as I pummel you," Marcus retorts.

"_Nu draar_," he says, shaking his head.

"_K'atini!_" he shoots back.

"Oh come on boys, lighten up. We all know I'm gonna come out on top," Aathias interjects.

"What?" they both ask incredulously.

"HA!" Sedriv and Logan both laugh, while Jovani rolls his eyes with an amused smile. "I so want to see that!"

"Seriously?" Raman asks.

"What makes you think that?" Marcus adds.

"Well I'm already pretty good," she drawls smugly. "But your mother's been teaching me some moves too, and I think they're pretty killer."

"Oh come on," he groans.

"When did she teach you stuff?" Raman asks incredulously.

"At times. No reason for me to tell you," she replies, grinning.

"Wait, your mother? As in the Viper?" Logan asks.

"Who else?" Marcus says dryly.

"Just making sure," he says, nodding.

* * *

"That's quite the impressive accomplishment. Not many Mandalorians could take on a zakkeg, much less with only three of you," Count Drezden praises.

"_Vor entye_," they all reply with a nod.

After returning to the outpost from a successful hunt for the zakkeg, Raman, Aathias and Marcus all were summoned to meet with Count Drezden, who wanted to congratulate them on the mission.

Count Drezden is a large man with darkened skin from his inter-racial parents, a thin black but graying beard, and wears black-colored armor with golden highlights. Over his shoulders he wears a dark brown fur cape, which is customary for the Count to wear in Clan Ordo. While a veteran Mandalorian, he is past his prime at age 60, but still no less respected for his status or skills in battle. Most of the Clan considers him to be the best leader they've had in several generations, which he's proven with his courage, intellect, battle prowess, and his firm sense of responsibility as duty to being a good leader.

Like most of the Clans on Mandalore, they're led through a mostly monarch system, with the descendants of their Clan's founder being the leaders. This is not a firm, exclusive rule, as Count's can choose whoever they wish to be their successor, the only requirement being that they were born in that Clan, and are agreed upon by its populace for the role. However being a very traditional people, the successor not chosen through descendants is in very rare instances. And unfortunately for Drezden his two sons were killed in the Mandalorian Civil War, leaving him with no direct heir to continue Canderous Ordo's bloodline.

Everyone in the Clan was deeply upset and saddened when this happened, most of them blaming Death Watch and House Vizsla for it. But despite his grief, Drezden has persisted in leading his people and looked for someone he feels is worthy of taking his place; his gaze being drawn to the Sohl brothers, Raman in particular. He respects the Sohl's and admires their loyalty and devotion to Mandalore, which is part of why Je'ric is one of his top advisors. Raman's leadership qualities have stuck out for Drezden in particular, while in Marcus he admires his fighting prowess.

"Defeating a zakkeg was considered a great honor for ancient Mandalorians once, and I see why it should be no different today," Drezden continues. "I'm sure you're well aware that tonight is our annual tournament."

"We do, Count," Raman says.

"Being unable to return to Mandalore, the tournament is now our best opportunity to express ourselves as Mandalorians, and to showcase our strengths in battle. I'm hoping you will be ready to take part in it."

"I don't see how we couldn't. It's brilliant!" Aathias comments eagerly.

"Hmm hmm," Marcus nods in agreement.

"I'm glad to hear it," Drezden replies. "These days it'll be more challenging to keep our spirits up, so I'd like you to set an example for us. Get some rest, I'm sure you need it after such a long hunt."

They all nod their heads are offer their gratitude, and move to leave. However before Marcus could exit, Drezden stops him.

"A moment, Marcus," he asks.

Marcus stops in confusion and glances at Raman, who shrugs. He and Aathias leave, and Marcus turns back to Drezden.

"Yes sir?" he asks politely.

"I just wanted to make a note of your skills in battle. You're one of the best of our generation," he remarks.

"Thank you sir," Marcus replies, hiding his sheepish expression.

"Because of this, I think it's far past time that you were given one of these," he continues.

Reaching under his desk, Drezden holds up a new jetpack, causing Marcus to widen his eyes. He takes a few quick steps forwards in his amazement, hesitantly reaching a hand out to touch it. It's the standard model with thrusters and a missile set into the top, but the shiny gray metal indicates it recently came off the assembly line.

"Wow... really?" he asks.

"Of course. You're more than ready," Drezden says.

Marcus smiles lightly and then looks over the jetpack again, considering. Being able to finally have his own jetpack is definitely awesome, but at the same time... he's not been too bad without it. He's not nearly as skilled with blasters and aiming like Raman is, being the better melee fighter out of the two of them. So he's more on the ground anyways compared to Raman, who can attack from the air. Still...

"Thank you sir... to be honest I don't know if I'll use it much, now that I think about it. I'm more of an up-close and personal fighter," he admits.

"That's perfectly fine Marcus. Still, it doesn't hurt to have one. You never know when you might need it," he replies.

Marcus smiles and takes the jetpack into his hands with a nod of gratitude. After a quick farewell he departs from Drezden's office, making his way towards the building's exit. Along the way he runs into his father, Je'ric, who takes notice of the jetpack.

"_Kandosii, ad_," he congratulates with a grin. "About time you earned your pack."

"_Vor entye buir,_" Marcus replies.

"Raman told me you jumped onto that zakkeg like a deranged lunatic," Je'ric remarks.

"He did, did he?" he asks dryly.

"Nothing to be bothered by. When I was your age I would've just gone right up to it and started punching," he replies, laughing. "I was very brave, but not the smartest."

"Yeah, that sounds like a dumb idea," Marcus scoffs in agreement.

"You participating in the tournament," Je'ric asks.

"Yeah. Probably won't use this just yet though," he says, gesturing to the jetpack.

"Well good luck out there. Your mother and I will be watching," he comments.

"Uh huh, sure," Marcus says in a small amount of amusement.

As they both continue on their way, Marcus heading for the family house, he can't help but let out a quiet sigh of disappointment, mostly at their entire lifestyle right now.

* * *

Back at their house, Marcus opens the door and steps inside, closing it after him. He walks over and places his jetpack and helmet on the table, observing it for a moment.

"...alright..." he murmurs to himself, looking a little glum.

"Hello Marcus," Ravella greets him, entering the room.

"Hey mother," he replies, managing a small smile.

"I heard about your success with the zakkeg. And that Drezden gave you your new jetpack!" she says happily.

"Yup. The real deal," he confirms.

"Certainly looks good, probably just came off the assembly," Ravella observes, touching the jetpack and holding it for a moment, setting it back down. "I'm sure that's exciting. You've been waiting for one for a while."

"Hmm hmm."

"Are you thinking of painting it to match your armor?" she asks.

"Maybe, not sure yet," he shrugs in reply. "I think I'll wait until after the tournament."

"Well isn't that exciting," she smiles.

"Definitely," he agrees. "Everyone's talking about it."

Despite Marcus's casual attitude, Ravella notices that there's something a bit off about him and frowns.

"Marcus, are you alright?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired," he tells her in dismissal.

"You're more than just tired," Ravella states, concerned. "You haven't seemed too happy lately."

Marcus grimaces and glances up at his mother, who is staring at him with a knowing gaze. Conceding defeat, he lets out a tired sigh.

"Alright. I'm just not happy with things lately," he admits.

"Happy with things?" she asks.

"Being here, being forced from our home, resorting to simply hunting wildlife for enjoyment," he explains in frustration. "It's dumb. There's not much to do around here otherwise."

"I know it's frustrating Marcus, but this is the best we have. Everyone else is adjusting well enough," she tells him.

"Yeah, I don't get that either," he scoffs.

"You have friends, people who care about you. Do you not enjoy your time with them?"

"No, it's not that... well..." he sighs in frustration. "It's not that I don't enjoy it, it's just... I need something more. This isn't enough for me."

"Marcus..." Ravella says slowly, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You don't always have to be doing something. Have you ever considered settling down? Like how your brother is?"

"What do you mean?" he asks, confused.

"Raman and Aathias have been together for years now, and they'll be married soon," she tells him. "Haven't you considered the same?"

"Not really," he shrugs.

"You're 25 now Marcus, you should try. There's bound to be some girl in the clan for you," she suggests.

"I don't really feel that way," Marcus says in disagreement.

"Are you sure? What about Varlaa? She's nice, pretty, and good with weapons. Or Kayli? She's one of my students and is really good at hand-to-hand like you. And she once told me she's attracted to you," Ravella suggests.

"I get it Mom, really," he interrupts. "I'm just not really interested in that."

Ravella sighs.

"Your troubles could be because you need companionship; at least that's what I believe. If you feel otherwise then I'm not sure how to help you, but don't dismiss the idea. Ok?"

"Ok," he sighs. "I just want something more to do, I just don't know what."

"Whatever you need, please know that all of us are willing to support you Marcus. You don't have to figure it out alone," she tells him.

"Thanks Mom," he replies quietly.

* * *

_**Nayli City - Chandrila**_

The shuttle comes to a stop in front of the apartment complex, the doors opening. Lara steps off of the shuttle with a friendly wave to the pilot, and makes her way towards the complex. The shuttle doors closes right after, and it speeds off to rejoin traffic in the streets.

Lara enters the main building and gets into the lift, pressing the button for her floor number. The lift doors close and it begins to rise, opening after a few seconds to give her access to her floor. She walks down the hallway and then pulls out her keycard, scanning it along the doors locking system. The door then slides open so that she can walk through, but as soon as she enters the apartment she yelps in fright as something narrowly shoots past her head.

"Ahh! What the-" she exclaims, whipping around.

"Oh my goodness, Lara!" Claynel sighs, breathing in relief. "I wasn't expecting you to walk in just now."

"Well- yeah!" she replies in aggravation, approaching the thrown object. "Wh- what was that?"

"It was a heavy ball. I was just practicing my skills," he replies.

Lara spots the spherical object in question, which is lying on the ground next to the disposal bin. She gestures with her hand and picks up the sphere using the force, turning around to face him and letting it hover in her hand with a raised eyebrow.

"You were using the Force... to practice your 'baller' skills?" she asks incredulously.

"I don't see much of a problem with it," he chuckles in response.

Lara sighs in exasperation, setting the ball down on the kitchen counter. Her father was sitting in a chair at the dining table, his cane resting against the wall beside him. Thanks to her job she managed to move them out of that horrible place they were living in before, now living in a cleaner and safer environment. The apartment was by no means top quality, it was still very plain and a bit old, not terribly fancy at all; however for them it was good enough, and Lara worked to tidy up their new place a little bit. It certainly beats their former living conditions, where the area they stayed came with the risk of muggers banging down doors.

"Aren't you the one who said I should used the Force sparingly?" she asks him.

"Did I now?" Claynel replies thoughtfully; at the same time he reaches his hand out and pulls the heavy ball over to him, resting it on the table. "Huh. Must've forgotten it."

"Oh daddy..." she sighs.

As Lara works on unpacking her things, Claynel instead works on pushing himself up to his feet, standing up and out of the chair. He shakily supports himself on the table, and Lara instantly rushes over to his side upon noticing his actions.

"Dad, let me help," she says.

Lara wraps her arm around him to help support him out of the chair, reaching over and pulling his cane towards her with the Force. She allows him to grasp it in one hand, and then keeps a hold of his arm while he shuffles forwards, leaning heavily on his cane.

"Where do you want to go?" she asks him.

"Just to the couch," he sighs glumly.

Claynel takes shaky steps in the direction of the couch, which is situated in the living area, Lara supporting him the whole way. His legs wobble a little bit every few steps, forcing him to halt before he continues on his way. Finally, Lara eases him to sit down on the couch, and he collapses into it with an exhausted sigh, lying his cane down beside him. He breathes heavily for a few moments, disregarding some of the brief flashes of pain that stir up from the movement.

"Thank you," he says gratefully.

"Anytime," she replies. "What were you doing up today, might I ask?"

"I can't lie in bed all of the time now, can I?" he responds.

"What if you fell over? Who knows how long it would have been before someone could help you," Lara points out, expressing some of her disapproval.

"I wouldn't have fallen over, I can still move well enough," he says stubbornly.

Lara sighs, knowing his stubborn nature would make him want to continue persisting through doing whatever he wants to do. Despite knowing his condition, he just can't help himself when it comes to having the opportunity to move around freely, without being constrained.

"Still, just keep the communicator with you at all times Dad, just in case. Please," Lara asks seriously.

"I know, I do," he reassures her, sighing once more. "So how was work today?"

"As good as it can get, I suppose," she shrugs in response, going back to sorting through her day items, having also bought a small bag of food items on the way back from the hospital. "Dr. Zirash had to amputate a man's leg today."

"Oh, goodness gracious. That poor fellow," Claynel comments.

"Apparently he got caught in the machinery at the factory he works at, and it started shredding his leg before they could stop it," Lara explains sadly.

"That's just terrible," he says sadly. "It's a real shame that to this day, factory workers still have to deal with unsafe conditions."

"Money comes first for the corporation I guess," she shrugs.

"Well, I hope that poor fellow manages to recover well enough," he remarks.

"Hmm hmm," she replies with a nod, placing some food into the cabinets. "Oh by the way, I'm going to be going out later tonight with Hamu."

"What for?" Claynel asks with a frown.

"Just to relax, spend time together. We're planning on going out to the city park for an hour or so," she tells him.

"So a date?" he demands, his frown deepening.

"It's not a date," Lara replies in exasperation.

"Sure sounds like one," he retorts. "You're just going to the city park?"

"Yeah. Only for an hour."

"An hour at most," Claynel states firmly. "And be back before it gets too dark!"

"Dad, I'm not a teenager anymore," she reminds him.

"You're still my daughter, and I'm not about to entertain the possibility of some wack-jobs deciding to target you if I can help it," he says with a stern glare.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea," Lara replies with a roll of her eyes.

* * *

**TRANSLATIONS:**

_duse_ \- rubbish, waste (Lit. unclean things)

_Ki'ra_ \- dang

_get'shuk_ \- Team game similar to meshgeroya, in that there are goals at either end of the pitch, except the players may handle the ball. Very similar to rugby; brutal, fast and painful.

_dinii_ \- lunatic

_Biai yirhaou gar gev gotal'ur nari bat ner b'ami'r._ \- How about you stop making moves on my girl.

_cyar'ika_ \- darling, sweetheart

_Nu draar_ \- No way. Absolutely not. Never in a million years. Not on your life. (Emphatic disagreement and doubt. Lit: Not never. Mandos use double negatives for emphasis.)

_K'atini_ \- Suck it up!

_Kandosii, ad_ \- Well done, son

_Vor entye (buir)_ \- Thank you (father/mother)


	3. Chapter 3 - The Tournament

**_Author's Opinion: _**_I got around to see the first episode of the new Star Wars show, 'The Mandalorian,' and I gotta say, I liked it. It was plenty of fun, with engaging characters and a good look at the lifestyle of people in the more rough parts of the galaxy after the fall of the Empire. And with a crazy and special twist at the end! Really interesting because this has never been looked at before, but also very risky for the same reason. But as always, we the fans are right to put our faith in the creative mind of Dave Filoni, along with great help from Jon Favreau. Those two know their Star Wars._

* * *

_**Author's Note: **There are a few words spoken in Mando'a here, to which I've provided __a translation for at the bottom of the page._

* * *

**_Dxun - Jungle Moon of Onderon_**

**3rd person POV...**

It was now evening, the lack of intense sunlight cooling the temperature wonderfully despite the humid climate of the jungle. A breeze added to the comfortable temperature, making for the tournament to have wonderful conditions.

A decent sized stadium accompanied the Mandalorian Outpost just outside of the main structure itself, which they were using for this tournament. It housed enough seats for the two thousand members of Clan Ordo, allowing them all the opportunity to watch the exciting events unfold. Count Drezden sat in his own box centered directly with the middle of the arena, and Je'ric and Ravella sat just outside of it. Beside the Count's box was also a space reserved for a few guests that came to observe the tournament: Mandalorian Protectors led by Matthenus Rau. The arena where the fights took place was a flat expanse of short grass, lit up by powerful lights around the edge of the stadium.

For this tournament, several warriors were chosen to participate, which they all did so eagerly. There were different levels based on skill and feats accomplished that they were distributed in, and the event would carry out with the lowest levels competing first, eventually reaching to the highest rankings on the list. Marcus, Raman, and Aathias all sat at the top.

"My fellow warriors and Mandalorians!" Drezden shouts, his voice amplified by a speaker. "Today we once more host our annual tournament, where our combatants will test their skills, prowess, and determination in battle!"

The crowd of Mandalorians roar with approval, and Drezden continues.

"Today we honor our ancestors, our culture, and all the great warriors of our history! Today we shall fight to see who amongst our chosen fighters is the greatest!" he states, and there's more cheering. "Let the tournament begin!"

Marcus listens to the speech from where he's seated in the stand with the rest of his fellow competitors, sighing to himself. Still, he manages a smile and glances around, observing how everyone is hanging out with each other. There's laughter and taunting, some of them comparing their skills and boasting about their accomplishments.

"Yo Marcus, you ready to get your butt spanked?!" Logan calls out.

"You couldn't even spank a loth-cat, Logan," he retorts.

"Hah! That's so true!" Sedriv laughs.

"Aw, shut it Sed!" he shoots back.

"I'd say I may very well have the upper hand today brother," Raman comments with a grin, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I've done lots of great things recently."

"You say that, but there's no way you're beating your _riduur_," Marcus replies teasingly, before frowning. "...actually, they're making fun of us.

The two brothers both glance over to see Aathias sitting with the other women, giggling to each other and looking in their direction. Aathias has a sly smirk on her face, and Raman frowns at the sight. Pulling back, they both share an agreeable look with each other.

"Hmph. They wish they could take us," Raman scoffs.

"Should we prove them wrong?" Marcus asks.

"Oh definitely," he nods in agreement. "And then I'll be beating you."

"In your dreams, punk head," he says.

"I think you meant to say, 'champion,'" Raman retorts.

The announcer and supervisor of the tournament then steps forwards to the edge of the arena and shouts the names of the first two people that would be fighting. The crowd cheers as the younger Mandalorians eagerly make their way into the arena, clad in their armor and readying themselves for the fight. The younger, less experienced fighters would go first, and then the tournament would progress to the more skilled warriors the clan had to offer.

Marcus watches the first two contestants begin their fight, thinking with some amusement at how he used to be in their position once upon a time.

* * *

The last half hour had pitted the 'newer' generation against each other, showcasing several skilled fighters. In Marcus's eyes however, they were relying on talent more than their tactical skill and prowess, being older teenagers and people in their very early twenties.

"Well that was a bold move," Sedriv comments.

"Certainly worked in his favor," Logan adds.

"_Jare'la_, I would say. Any experienced warrior would know how much risk that puts you in," Jovani remarks in disagreement.

"Way too open," Raman agrees.

With the younger fighters all finished competing however, it was finally time to advance further along in the tournament. The crowd waits with anxious breath as the announcer steps forwards, reading from a list of names on a data pad.

"Next fight: Sedriv vs Logan!"

The two look at each other before grinning, sharing expressions meant to taunt the other. The crowd cheers as they make their way down to the arena, clad in their armor. While being more of the jokesters in their age group, Sedriv and Logan were definitely accomplished warriors, being fast and difficult to hit. Sedriv stood taller then Logan by two inches, with browner skin and hair cut short. His armor was colored blue and gray, packing a simple jetpack and average helmet. Logan carried a bit more strength than him, although a little slower, and has lighter skin with blonde hair. His armor is a bit tougher, with green highlights and black plates.

"Get ready to be destroyed," Logan taunts.

"Destroyed? I'd worry about you first!" Sedriv retorts.

The announcer gave the signal for them to prepare themselves, and they both put on their helmets, tensing up in anticipation.

"FIGHT!"

Blasters are instantly in their hands, shooting at each other as they rush around. Their weapons are set to an electrical stun so that no serious injury can occur, but shocks their armor to simulate a hit. Logan activates a small shield on his left gauntlet to block a bolt, and shoots back in retaliation. He scores a hit on Sedriv's blaster rifle, knocking it out of his hands.

Undeterred, Sedriv rushes forward and rolls along the ground to avoid a flurry of shots, and uses his jetpack for a quick burst. He brings his knee up against Logan to knock his shield arm away, and then punches his first pistol away. They grapple over the second one, but Sedriv manages to rip it from his grasp as well. Logan retaliates by kicking Sedriv in the chest, following up with two quick punches to the helmet. Sedriv stumbles back and is knocked off his feet by a follow-up sweeping kick from Logan, but he recovers quickly by blasting his jetpack once more.

Logan takes off after him using his own jetpack, firing a grappling hook at Sedriv. However he suddenly evades to the side with a burst from his pack, catching Logan by surprise as his grappling hook misses. Sedriv then swings his arm out for a hard hit, smacking him out of the air.

A pained grunt escapes from Logan as he hits the ground flat on his back, rolling over to get to his feet. Sedriv lands beside him and goes on the offense, throwing kicks and punches. Logan deflects some with his forearms and dodges others, grabbing his arm as he attempts for another punch to the head, and flips him over his shoulder. Unfortunately for him Sedriv responds by pushing backwards off of the ground, delivering a powerful kick to his head.

Logan stumbles back in surprise with a grunt of pain, and Sedriv lunges to his feet. With a sweeping kick of his own he sends Logan tumbling to the ground, and then pins him down, pressing his foot down on his helmet. After a few long seconds of failing to get free, the announcer determines the winner.

"Victory goes to Sedriv!" he declares.

Applause sounds from the audience, and their friends sitting in the stands cheer them on as well.

"That was pretty good," Raman comments.

"Yeah, especially the way Sedriv knocked him out of the air," Marcus adds.

Down in the arena, Sedriv smirks at Logan underneath his helmet and helps him stand to his feet, full of smugness and boasting.

"Like I said, I'd worry about you first," he comments.

"Oh shut it punk head," Logan retorts irritably, punching his shoulder.

Despite his annoyance and disappointment with losing to Sedriv, Logan nevertheless walks back to the stands with him without any lasting anger, both of them still friends.

"Next battle: Jovani vs Ivanka!" the announcer declares loudly.

"Good luck you tank," Raman says encouragingly, patting his shoulder.

"Hmph," Jovani grunts in response.

Across the stands, Aathias and the rest of the girls give Ivanka their own encouragements.

"Go get 'em!" Aathias says.

Ivanka gets up with a smile of her own and makes her way down to the stadium. The two combatants meet each other down in the arena, helmets in hand.

The two fighters were among the oldest of their age group, and the biggest. Jovani was a large man at 30 years of age, with muscular strength that even has Je'ric Sohl impressed by, although not as much as himself. He has dark brown skin and black hair, sporting a small goatee on his face. His armor is colored brown with blue highlights, and he has a typical T-visor helmet.

Ivanka was similarly the strongest woman of their age group, also the same age as Jovani. She had lighter brown skin than him with a lighter shade of hair color as well. Her armor was colored brown with a shade of purple, having black highlights. Her helmet also had a T-visor.

A fun fact about them is that they're both married to each other, which made things amusing.

"This'll be good," Logan remarks.

"I'm betting on Ivanka as the winner," Marcus comments.

"Oh really?" Raman asks.

"She's faster than him, and better with a jetpack," he explains.

"Pfft, as if speed means anything," Sedriv scoffs in amusement. "They're both behemoths, so being fast doesn't mean garbage if you can't knock them down."

"Well they're both strong too, thought Jovani is obviously more so," Logan adds.

"Good point," Raman says in agreement.

Down in the arena, Jovani and Ivanka both share challenging grins with each other before putting on their helmets and getting into their battle stances, facing each other.

"FIGHT!"

Both warriors run at each other in a sprint. Jovani attacks first by throwing a fist out for a punch, but Ivanka sidesteps his swing and brings up her own fist. Luckily for him he blocks it with his forearm, and the two engage in a melee battle. Fists are thrown, legs are kicked, all in firm, strong motions. The audience watches eagerly as they fight, the two showing themselves to be fairly evenly matched.

The standoff is broken when Jovani lands a powerful hit on Ivanka's helmet with his fist, knocking her back. He moves after her, but after stumbling she quickly retaliates by spinning around and bringing her foot up for a heavy kick, also hitting his head. He stumbles back with a grunt of pain, and the two take a moment to collect themselves before charging at each other again.

Ivanka then uses her jetpack to jump high into the air and flips over Jovani's head, grasping onto his back. She gets her arms around his throat and also attaches herself to him with her legs around his waist, intending to throttle him. However after a few staggering steps, Jovani reaches over behind him and grabs her by the armor, yanking her off and over his head to throw her onto the ground.

"Ohhh!" Sedriv exclaims. "That's gotta hurt!"

"He just slammed her down!" Raman adds in agreement.

Marcus watches the battle with anticipation, still loving the thrill of a good matchup fight. Jovani moves around in an attempt to pin her down, but Ivanka retaliates by kicking her legs upwards. He ducks his head to the side just in time so that her boots connect to his shoulder instead of his helmet, and shoves her legs down. He then grabs her wrists and pins them above her head, using his knee to keep her legs down as well.

Everyone watches with their breath held as Ivanka struggles against him, even going against him with a headbutt. He noticeably flinches in pain at the hit, but nevertheless keeps her pinned down. After a long enough time she slumps in defeat, and the announcer calls the victor.

"Victory goes to Jovani!" he declares.

The audience shouts in approval of the fight, and Jovani helps Ivanka back to her feet with a smile on his face.

"Well wasn't that fun," he remarks.

"Oh hush with the teasing, you know I almost had you," she retorts in exasperation.

"Almost," he replies in agreement.

"Meh. I'll make sure to get you next time honey," Ivanka teases in dismissal.

The couple make their way out of the stadium and back into the stands while the others converse with each other about the fight.

"That was a good fight. I knew Jovani was gonna get the victory," Raman remarks.

"Yeah. Oh, hey Marcus! How 'bout that Jovani victory huh?" Logan asks teasingly.

"Oh shut up," Marcus sighs in exasperation, rolling his eyes.

"Haha, yeah man. 'She's faster than him, and better with a jetpack.' Well that didn't work, as you just saw," Sedriv adds in amusement, mimicking him.

"Maybe I'll just beat you up next," he retorts.

Raman laughs.

"Oh man, I would pay good money to see that happen," he says in amusement. "Unfortunately Marcus, I'll be the one doing that."

"Meh," Marcus shrugs in reply.

* * *

**_Nayli City - Chandrila_**

**Lara POV…**

After bidding my father goodbye I took a shuttle over to the main park of the small city, where me and Hamu were supposed to meet. Once I arrived I paid the driver and stepped into the park, looking around.

I always liked this part of the city, in the natural park. The flora and sense of nature was always very soothing and enjoyable to be around. I would come here often with my father years ago to enjoy the landscape, watching the tintolive trees sway in the wind, listen to the hoots and cries of preepnobs and pripnaks, playing around in the grass… it was always very fun. I take a moment to observe the park now, closing my eyes and letting the tranquil presence of the Force swirl around me, sensing all of the wildlife nearby...

"Lara! Hello!" a voice calls out.

I open my eyes and turn around to see Hamu walking up to me, a smile on his face. I smile back at him in greeting, noting how he freshened up his appearance to look nicer than usual.

"You look terrific," he comments.

I turn my head away in an attempt to conceal my face, feeling my skin heat up slightly. I decided to come in a nicer outfit as well, since this was supposed to be a more friendly occasion. I'm wearing a deep red tunic that flows down to my mid-thigh, highlighted with white lines. It's loose and comfortable but also accentuates me in a feminine way, contrasting well with my blonde hair flowing down my back. Underneath I'm wearing a gray colored skirt and navy blue leggings, reaching down to my dark brown boots.

"Thanks. You look nice yourself," I compliment in reply.

He was dressed casually, wearing a more formal looking jacket and black pants, a hint of brown highlighting the jacket and his boots. It goes well in a way that compliments his blue skin and lekku.

"Thank you," he replies with a smile. "Shall we?"

I smile at him and walks by his side as we make our way down the gravel trail, the lamps lighting the pathway for us as the sky grows more dim. A few people walk by as well, ranging from humans, pantorans, twi'leks, and rodians, all of them either by themselves, another person, or with a group. I take a moment to observe a sparkling pond beside the trail before he speaks.

"So, how've things been going for you lately?" he asks. "Aside from the obvious of course."

"Alright, I suppose. We've been getting by," I reply. "You?"

"…alright," he replies, a small grin on his face. "Well, my mother has been repeatedly making calls to me, asking how I've been doing."

"And?" I ask.

"It's very annoying, so I just decided to just tell her off," he admits bluntly.

"What?!" I ask incredulously.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my mother to death but she just doesn't know when to stop. My father completely agrees with me, in fact I heard him laughing over the comlink when I talked to her," he explains with some amusement. "Honestly, I have a professional career now, but she still feels the need to fuss over me."

"Well that sounds… I don't know, weird? Silly?" I reply uncertainly.

"Heartfelt and annoying?" he offers, and I roll my eyes. "She's… certainly the definition of a mama bear."

"Guess so," I remark with some amusement.

"So what do you want to eat? There are a few places nearby that have decent food," he tells me.

"Uh… I don't know. What would you suggest?" I ask him.

He smiles at me.

"Come on, I'll show you!" he says.

* * *

**_Mandalorian Outpost - Dxun_**

**3rd person POV…**

A few more battles took place, one of which was between Kayli and Varlaa. They were both skilled fighters, the latter being a student of Marcus and Raman's mother, so she was good at hand to hand. Naturally she managed to come out on top after a swift and intense fight with Varlaa. After the fight, Kayli sent Marcus the briefest of glances, but he instantly caught the gleam in her eyes that showcases she's into him, and longing to impress him.

Unfortunately, Raman caught it as well.

"Hah! Oh, she's smitten with you little brother," he laughs, teasing him.

"Oh come on, no she's not," Marcus denies, looking away in embarrassment.

"Yeah she is. It's obvious," Raman says with a grin. "You two should go out on a date!"

"Ugh. Just focus on your own _riduurok_ you jerk," he retorts, shoving him away.

"Next battle: Raman vs Sedriv!" the announcer declares.

The audience roars in excitement as the names are called, Raman being a popular favorite amongst many of them. The two named Mandalorians glance at each other before standing up, an eager smirk stretching across Raman's face. He bashes his knuckles together in anticipation.

"Oh I am going to enjoy this!" he says eagerly.

"Hah! I'll make sure to lower your ego in the arena, Raman," Sedriv retorts confidently.

"I highly doubt that. I'm going with Raman crushing you in this fight," Logan comments.

"You're just saying that because you want me to lose!" Sedriv accuses.

"Yes I do," he admits nonchalantly, grinning.

"Hey, Sed. If it makes you feel any better, I want to see Raman lose," Marcus says.

"Thank you Marcus!" he says happily.

"Unlikely though," Jovani comments.

"Hey!" Sedriv protests.

"That's right," Raman replies confidently.

The two make their way down to the arena, and everyone watches in anticipation. Aathias is smiling in a mixture of curiosity and eagerness, also amused at the prospect of seeing her fiancé finally getting down there. Marcus also watches, knowing the likely outcome but still interested in whether or not Sedriv can manage to pull off a victory.

Raman and Sedriv both face each other in the arena and put their helmets on, getting into their battle stances, hands twitching to grab their blasters.

"FIGHT!"

The audience roars as the two Mandalorians move into action, pulling out their blaster rifles. Raman fires his rifle at Sedriv, who barely rolls away from the bolts aimed for him. He pops up and fires in retaliation, but Raman charges forwards without a care, using the butt end of his rifle, which was especially crafted to resist blaster fire, to stop the bolts headed his way.

"Aw, what?" Sedriv asks in bewilderment.

Raman lunges forwards and fires his blaster rifle at Sedriv, who just barely avoids it by jumping into the air with his jetpack. He throws down a smoke bomb that impacts near Raman, creating a thick cloud of smoke to obscure his vision. Raman waits for a moment and then rolls away from a blaster bolt that comes from behind him, and shoots back with his own rifle. A startled yelp from Sedriv lets him know he managed a hit.

Activating his own jetpack, Raman flies out of the smoke at high speeds and crashes into a surprised Sedriv, who's blaster was shot out of his hands moments before. Raman grapples Sedriv and then kicks him with his feet, knocking him out of the air. Sedriv recovers just before hitting the ground and flies back up in an attempt to strike. Raman ducks away from his attempted punch and swings his blaster rifle, smacking him in the head with the butt end of it.

The crowd reacts to the brutal hit with a bit of sympathy, nonetheless enjoying it.

"Wow! He's gonna need more than bacta to recover from that!" Logan exclaims, laughing.

"Raman always did enjoy using his rifle as a bat," Marcus comments.

Sedriv tumbles out of the air and hits the ground with a groan of pain, sitting up and holding a hand to his helmet, a little dazed. Raman takes the opportunity to shoot his blaster rifle at him, but Sedriv just barely rolls out of the way of his shots, throwing down another smoke bomb to conceal himself. Raman drops down to the ground and rushes forwards, bringing his right arm back and activating his vambrace. Punching the air in front of him, his vambrace unleashes a burst of its repulsor to blow away the smoke.

Spotting Sedriv in front of him, he rushes forwards and activates his grappling line next, wrapping it around his wrist. Raman yanks him in his direction, but Sedriv manages to jump with the momentum and kick him in the chest, knocking him back. He dashes forwards quickly in an attempt to overwhelm him with fast strikes, but Raman backpedals, blocking his attacks before sidestepping and grabbing his arm, flipping him onto the ground.

Raman pins him down on his stomach as soon as he hits the ground, shoving his head into the dirt and keeping a foot pressed down on one of his arms. Sedriv struggles, but is unable to overcome him.

"Victory belongs to Raman!" the announcer declares.

Everyone cheers and applauds at the result of the fight, and Marcus smiles to himself with a small scoff, shaking his head. Raman gets up and releases Sedriv, looking down at him with a grin hidden behind his helmet.

"Well that was fun," he says. "My ego is still firmly intact."

"Oh go kriff yourself Raman," Sedriv retorts sarcastically.

The two make their way back into the stands, Aathias punching Raman's arm with a smirk as he walks past her, and the announcer reveals the next two fighters.

"Next battle: Marcus vs Jovani!"

Yells of excitement and cheering erupt from the audience, and Marcus looks over at Jovani, sharing a look with him. Their friends all respond with enthusiasm and eagerness, while Marcus feels a little bit subdued and sheepish.

"Great! The big dude vs the slippery dude!" Logan exclaims.

"Jovani, please kick his butt," Raman says.

"You are such a great brother," Marcus says sarcastically.

"Maybe I can enjoy this fight more," Sedriv murmurs.

Jovani and Marcus both get up from their seats and make their way down into the arena amidst the cheers of the excited crowd. Marcus glances up and catches sight of his parents both cheering him on with wide smiles, and he also hears some loud encouragement from Kayli, making him look down to hide his embarrassment.

He and Jovani then face each other in the arena, putting their helmets on. Marcus tenses up in preparation, analyzing his opponent. He's very big and strong, so trying to outmuscle him is a suicidal tactic. Instead of using his strength, he'll have to be faster, use precise hits, and avoid his grasp. With the plan in mind, Marcus gets into his battle ready stance.

"Here's to a good fight Marcus," Jovani says.

"Same to you," Marcus replies.

"FIGHT!"

Marcus immediately whips out his blaster pistol and starts firing, sprinting towards him. Jovani rolls to the side and gets up, raising his arm to enable his gauntlet's deflector shield, blocking the shots. He throws a fist out when he gets close, but Marcus jumps to the side and spins around with a kick aimed for the back of his knee.

Jovani stumbles when his knee is kicked, and turns around with another fist. Marcus ducks backwards to avoid it and then shoots his blaster, which glances against Jovani's shoulder. He grunts at the hit, having moved to avoid a headshot, but kicks his foot out in front of him. He kicks Marcus on the chest to send him sprawling on his back, where he loses his blaster in the process.

Hitting the ground with a grunt of pain, Marcus quickly rolls out of the way when Jovani slams himself down in an attempt to pin him, and gets back to his feet. He delivers a few swift jabs against Jovani's side and limbs, in between the plates of armor, causing him to grunt in pain and stumble. Marcus jumps forward to deliver a kick to his helmet, but Jovani quickly reacts by ducking aside and hitting him in the back, sending him sprawling onto his stomach this time. The crowd reacts to the hit with grimaces or excitement.

"Haha! Come on brother, you're better than that!" Raman laughs in amusement.

"It's like he forgot how hard the guy hits," Logan adds in amusement.

Over with the girls, they were also reacting in various ways. Aathias lets out a single exclamation of laughter, withholding the ready of her amusement.

"Did he actually just try that?" she snickers.

"Yeah, Jovani knows what he's trying to do," Ivanka comments.

"Oh no... I hope he gets the upper hand!" Kayli murmurs anxiously.

"Oh? Rooting for your _kar'taylir darasuum_?" Varlaa teases.

"Shut up Varlaa!" she retorts with a snack to her shoulder, much to the others amusement.

Marcus groans in pain for a moment and pushes himself to his feet, hearing Jovani's heavy footsteps as he sprints at him from behind. Activating his new jetpack, Marcus whirls around with a shout as his feet leave the ground, delivering a fierce kick against Jovani's head that knocks him aside. Roars of approval sound from the audience at the move, and Marcus moves into action quickly.

Dropping down in the air for a foot, Marcus then angles himself towards Jovani and then blasts forward, slamming into him head on and tackling him to the ground. They both go sprawling, but Marcus expertly flips back to his feet and skids across the dirt. Jovani grunts in pain and pushes himself up, lunging towards Marcus. A quick melee battle ensues as fists are thrown and feet are kicked, with Marcus being more defensive by either evading or deflecting his strikes away from him using Jovani's momentum.

Marcus sidesteps another punch and then whirls around, bringing his elbow up and bashing it against Jovani's helmet. Jovani stumbles back once more with another grunt, while Marcus kicks off of the ground and activates his jetpack to fly once more, going to knee his head. Jovani sees this though and moves to retaliate, swinging a fist out that would knock his leg to the side, and then follow it up with another heavy punch to knock him flat on the ground.

At least that's what he thought would happen.

To his surprise, Marcus stops his attempted knee in a feint move and then blasts up and over his head, landing on the ground with a single flip behind him. Reaching his arm out, Marcus unleashes a grappling line from his own vambrace to retrieve his blaster, catching it effortlessly and then whipping around. Jovani had spun around in respond to his unexpected move and lunged forward, but Marcus raises his blaster just in time and unleashes two quick blaster shots that strike his chest, before rolling out of the way.

The stun blasts caught Jovani dead on, and he falls to the ground mid-lunge with a grunt of pain, groaning as he lays there for several long moments, dazed.

"Victory is taken by Marcus!" the announcer declares.

Roars of applause erupt from the crowd at the declaration, everyone having loved the fight and the feint move used at the end. Marcus sighs in exhaustion and moves to help Jovani up as he comes to, offering a hand out. Jovani chuckles as he gets to his feet, shaking his head.

"Wasn't expecting that," he remarks. "That was a good move."

"Thanks. Honestly though, your punches really hurt," Marcus replies, wincing slightly at a bruise on his torso.

Jovani laughs in response. "Not hard enough apparently!"

They make their way back up to their seats, receiving compliments from their friends along the way. Kayli blushes as Marcus passes by her, inciting a round of teasing from Aathias and Varlaa. As he sits down, Marcus gives Raman a smug grin, to which he retorts by scoffing in dismissal. Up above, Je'ric and Ravella smile proudly at the display given by their son, conversing with each other about it. Matthenus Rau brings a hand to his chin, a thoughtful and impressed expression on his face.

"We have now reached the Finals!" the announcer reveals.

Immediately, all of the audience starts cheering and roaring in approval, eager to see the last few fights take place.

"We are down to four competitors, and three matches remain! Only one warrior shall claim the ultimate victory!" the announcer declares. "For our first match: Aathias Doojor vs Kayli Tevarus!"

The two girls in question glance at each other in surprise before grinning, getting to their feet as the audience roars eagerly in approval. Kayli, despite her excitement, was a bit apprehensive and nervous at the thought of facing Aathias in battle. Aside from Ravella Sohl, who was appropriately named 'the Viper,' there was plenty of agreement that Aathias was among the top woman warrior in the Clan.

Reaching the arena they take their positions around the center and face each other, pulling their helmets on. Although Aathias has an impressive blaster rifle and Kayli with her own weapons, both of them typically prefer hand-to-hand combat, having taken combat classes taught by the Viper herself.

"Warriors ready…" the announcer says. "FIGHT!"

Aathias raises her blaster rifle and fires off a shot, drops the rifle, and then sprints forward in a flash. Kayli narrowly ducks out of the way of the stun blast by twirling around, and fires her own blaster in return. Three stun blasts streak by Aathias as she dodges her shots, and Kayli quickly drops her own blaster as she lunges forward. The two engage in a quick bout of melee combat, punching and kicking their limbs out to land a hit, moving gracefully with fierce speed and deadly precision. Neither of them could land a hit however, with their attacks constantly being deflected or dodged by the other. Even so, Aathias gets in the first real strike.

Kicking her foot forwards along the ground, Aathias catches Kayli by the heel and causes her to move off balance, which she swiftly takes advantage of. Grabbing her arm, Aathias swings herself off the ground and around Kayli, spinning her around and then throwing her to the ground, rolling backwards to hop to her feet. Kayli grunts upon impact but sweeps her foot out, forcing Aathias back. Rolling to her stomach she quickly gets to her feet and deflects Aathias' next jab, twirling under her guard to deliver an elbow to her helmet.

Aathias grunts from the hit and backpedals, prompting Kayli to lunge forward for an opportunity to strike. However Aathias responds with lightning speed, swinging her forearms up to batter Kayli's arms away and then pushing her back with a harsh shove. Using the extra space she gave herself, Aathias leaps forwards and twists her body, getting her legs around Kayli's neck in a scissor maneuver and flipping around the throw her on the ground once more, all while landing flat on her feet. Kayli hits the ground hard on her stomach and before she could get up Aathias pounces on top of her, pinning her down with her arms and the full weight of her body, restricting her movement.

Kayli twists and thrashes around with angry grunts in an attempt to free herself, grimacing in pain as her limbs are bent to far from how Aathias has her pinned. She very nearly manages to throw her off of her completely, but Aathias retaliates by jamming her foot into the back of Kayli's knee, eliciting a short cry of pain from her. After several seconds longer Kayli slumps flat on the ground to concede her defeat.

The entire fight only lasted for thirty seconds.

"Victory goes to Aathias!" the announcer declares.

Cheering and roars of applause erupt from the crowd at the victory, and Ravella smiles at seeing the results of the fight, just as proud with both of them at how they used her own combat techniques. Aathias gets off of Kayli and then helps her to her feet, pulling her helmet off to reveal her bright blonde hair and wide smile.

"Good match Kayli, that was fun," she compliments.

"Yeah, good fight," Kayli replies, also taking off her helmet. "Kinda wish I could've won but, you are the best girl around here."

Aathias doesn't miss the red on Kayli's cheeks despite her attempts to hide it, and smirks knowingly.

"Are you embarrassed because of what Marcus might think?" she teases.

_"Ne'johaa!"_ Kayli scowls, but her blush is amplified.

"Come on, it's just a joke," she laughs in reply. "If there's anything Marcus doesn't judge people on, it's their fighting prowess."

"But, he's the best hand-to-hand fighter our age in the Clan," she points out, confused.

"Exactly! He knows everyone else isn't as good as him!" Aathias retorts with a grin. "Don't worry about it girl!"

Up in the stands, Marcus and a few off the others turn to look at Raman with grins on their faces. Raman takes a few seconds to notice their stares, to which he becomes confused and baffled.

"What're you all looking at me for?" he demands.

"There's only two options now," Sedriv starts off.

"So who'd you rather get pummeled by?" Logan asks. "Your brother, or your sweet, sexy, _copikla_-"

"You better stop right there before I send you to _haran_," Raman threatens with a glare.

Logan and Sedriv both snicker at each other in amusement, bumping fists while Jovani just rolls his eyes and scoffs.

"As for your question," Raman continues, smirking at Marcus. "I'd much rather take down this _verd'ika_ here."

"Oh it's on," Marcus retorts.

* * *

**_Nayli City Park - Chandrila_**

**Lara POV...**

Dinner with Hamu was a fun experience, one of the most enjoyable things I've done in a long time. We ate, talked, laughed, just enjoying each other's company. For a little bit I was even able to forget about all the stress I've been dealing with so far in regards to work and taking care of my father.

After eating dinner we continued on our way through the park, walking along the pathway that snakes through the trees. It's now dusk, the sky lit up pink and purple as a result of the setting sun, and the lamps were all turning on to provide more light. Hamu and I came to a stop on a bridge that passes over a stream of water, giving us a good view of the small pond in front of us. Hamu was telling me a funny story that happened to him once.

"So after that, I went to ask him about this, saying: 'Hey, sir, this isn't the right datapad.' And for whatever reason he decides to get all offended and start ranting on me," Hamu describes, making a face. "Kind of a jerk."

"Seriously?" I say in surprise.

"Yeah," he replies, grinning. "But he didn't get too far into his rant though before the manager comes out to see what was happening."

"What'd he do?" I ask curiously.

"Without a single word, the manager took the datapad from me and gave me the correct one, then tells the guy he was fired," he says, chuckling. "The look on his face was priceless."

I laugh in amusement as well.

"That manager sounded pretty chill," I comment.

"Yeah. Since he was fired just like that I can only imagine that employee has done stupid stuff before," Hamu shrugs in reply.

"I'll bet," I reply in agreement. "One time I was at the market, and this old lady was completely losing it because a certain fruit had just gone out of stock. It was so bad that she had to be dragged off by a few people."

"Wow. Talk about anger management," he says dryly.

"Uh huh," I reply, scoffing.

We stand in comfortable silence for a little while, and I look out at the pond and different flora around.

"This park is probably my favorite place in the galaxy, which, isn't saying much since I've only been to one other planet," I remark softly. "I'd like to go to Naboo one day, or maybe Alderaan. Those planets are beautiful."

"Hmm," Hamu hums in agreement. "Better looking than Ryloth, that's for sure."

"You don't like your homeworld?" I ask, glancing at him.

"Not really. The place is a mess of desert, rock, and trash," he says, sounding disgusted. "Here though, everything is... nice. Smooth... soft... calming... alluring..."

Hamu trails off silently in his words. I'm still looking out at the pond, but through the Force I could sense his mind wasn't exactly on the planet. With a casual glance I notice his gaze is more focused on me, his lips upturned slightly in a barely noticeable fashion. I frown at what I'm sensing but brush it off, turning to face him.

"Yeah, Chandrila is nice," I remark. "Especially the landscape."

"Like the forests and stuff?" he asks.

"All of it. It's kind of like a more barren Alderaan, but it still has plenty of forests and wildlife. I remember my dad and I once went out camping in the mountains," I recall with a soft smile.

Glancing casually at my chrono I widen my eyes upon seeing the time.

"Oh, poodoo," I say with a groan. "Guess time went by faster than I though. I need to head back."

"Already?" Hamu asks, frowning.

"Yeah, I promised my father I would get back before dark," I tell him.

I start moving away, about to say goodbye when he suddenly grabs my arm.

"Wait a minute. I'm sure your father would understand if you're gone for a little longer," he says.

"I wish I could Hamu, but life is still busy for me," I reply apologetically.

"Come on Lara, just stay. There's no harm in that," he reasons. "We haven't even been out for very long."

"I know, but I still have other things to worry abo-" I start to say.

"Why not come back to my place for another hour or so? We could hang out more there," he suggests.

I frown up at him, sensing a bit of his thoughts with the Force, also becoming a bit more urgent in trying to pull away. He likes me, that I know... actually he's infatuated with me...

"Hamu, seriously, I have to go!" I insist, pulling harder.

"I'm serious too! There's more we can do together!" he replies. "You're a wonderful woman Lara, and we like each other."

"I know that, but that doesn't change he reality of life!" I retort.

"Why not? Things can change, life changes. You don't have to spend your life constantly burdened by your sick father!" he shoots back irritably.

I widen my eyes at him incredulously upon hearing that statement. He widens his eyes as well, guilt and shame coming over him at the comment.

"What?!" I say incredulously.

"That came out wrong!" he exclaims in reply, ashamed, but still holding my arm. "But you get what I'm trying to say!"

"I most certainly do not!" I snap angrily in response.

"Lara, being around each other makes us both happy! We can keep that going!" he suggests hopefully.

Sensing his thoughts through the Force, I can tell that he truly means what he's saying. He likes me a lot, is in love with me actually, and doesn't want me to go. To my disbelief however I can also sense that he doesn't care about my father. Not that I would need to expect him to, but he actually views my father as an obstacle! As something that needs to go away so that he can have me to himself!

He loves me greatly, but it also seems like possessive love. And I don't like that at all; not one bit. His thoughts are just absurd!

"You love me," I nod in agreement, glaring at him. "But the way you do is sickening!"

With a final wrench, using the Force to assist me, I rip my arm out of his grasp and send him stumbling, sprinting away from him.

"Wait! Lara, please, I- I'm sorry!" he cries out after me.

But I'm already gone, running to the park entrance to leave him.

* * *

_**Mandalorian Outpost - Dxun**_

**3rd person POV...**

"Our next battle will be one of great struggle! A match fought between two brothers: Marcus and Raman Sohl!" the announcer proclaims.

Everyone begins to cheer much louder than before, the two brothers having built their reputation in the clan as the best hand-to-hand combatant and best marksman respectively, and also favorited by plenty of people. Ravella and Je'ric both light up eagerly in anticipation and curiosity upon hearing their sons get called up; Count Drezden watches with intrigue as the two brothers he admires are called; Matthenus Rau, taking notice of Clan Ordo's excitement and having witness their fights before, leans forward in his seat with interest at what is to come.

Marcus and Raman share a look with each other, grinning in eager anticipation, determined to best the other. Their friends all lightly punch their shoulders with words of encouragement as they stand up, making their way down to the arena. Along the way they pass by the ladies, with Aathias grinning fiercely.

"Take him out Marcus, so I don't have to do it myself!" she calls out.

"No problem Aathias," he replies, chuckling.

"Hey! Where's the loyalty?" Raman demands incredulously.

"Sorry honey!" Aathias teases in reply, adopting a mocking expression.

Raman shakes his head in exasperation but continues on his way. They soon make it to the center of the arena where they turn and face each other, tensing up in preparation for battle. Raman smirks cockily at Marcus, shaking his arms out.

"Do I need to _muun'bajir_?" he asks mockingly.

"I don't know Raman. I'll ask Aathias next round," Marcus retorts.

The two put their helmets on and tense up for battle, preparing themselves. They both check their gauntlets to make sure their vambraces are in good condition, and check their jetpacks as well. Raman inspects his blaster rifle, while Marcus checks on his lone blaster and vibroblades, which are secured to his belt. Satisfied he faces forward and gets into a battle ready stance, with Raman mirroring him.

"Warriors at the ready..." the announcer says. "FIGHT!"

Raman flips his blaster rifle into his hands with great efficiency, immediately unleashing a volley of blaster fire. Marcus ducks away from the blue stun blasts, bringing up his vambrace and activating its small shield to block one bolt headed for his his face. Raising his other arm he pulls out his blaster pistol and fires back, quickly moving forward and closer to Raman. They exchange blaster fire, Marcus' quick reflexes and skill the only thing preventing him from being shot down by Raman's brilliant accuracy, and he continues to shorten the distance between them.

However Raman knows exactly what Marcus was doing: as the better hand-to-hand combatant, that's where he would succeed in the fight. So Raman needs to prevent that from happening.

When Marcus is within striking distance he lunges forward, but Raman shoots off into the air on his jetpack just in time, soaring around behind him and resuming his blaster fire. Marcus rolls across the ground after missing Raman, using his momentum to pop up and quickly dash out of the way of the barrage. Scowling irritably he twirls around on one knee and thrusts an arm out, unleashing a grappling line. Raman spots this and dodges left in order to avoid the wire, raising his blaster once more. However Marcus takes the brief second to jump up on his jetpack and charge towards his brother at full power, bringing his legs up. Raman widens his eyes in alarm and quickly brings his rifle in front of him just in time to block a dropkick maneuver from Marcus.

Despite successfully blocking him, the attack still knocked his blaster rifle out of his hands, and he 'stumbles' in the air. Marcus doesn't let up and starts delivering a fierce assault of airborne punches and kicks, which Raman just barely manages to defend himself against. However a quick jab to his side has Raman tumbling out of the air, where he hits the ground and falls into a roll. Marcus drops down after him and lands on his two feet, whipping out both vibroblades and sprinting forwards.

Seeing the blades, Raman scrambles to his feet and ducks underneath one swipe from Marcus, backpedaling to give himself space. Marcus doesn't let up however, and continues swiping his vibroblades around in quick precise strikes, hoping to catch Raman off guard and get him into a position, trapped by the blades, where he'll be forced to concede. Luckily for Raman he manages to reactivate his jetpack, kicking off of the ground to flip high over Marcus and land a few feet behind him. Marcus whips around and attempts to charge him, but Raman twirls his body upon landing and flings out a small grenade, directly hitting his target.

Marcus groans in pain as the small grenade, harmless but explosive, impacts against his chest armor and sends him sprawling on his back, vibroblades falling from his grip. Grinning, Raman charges forwards and jumps into the air, intending to slam his full body weight on top of him, starting with the point of his elbow. However Marcus just barely manages to recover in time, kicking his feet out to hit Raman and send him flying past him in a tumbling heap. Rolling across the ground, Marcus jumps to his feet and expertly kicks one of his vibroblades back into his hand, and then lunges forwards just as Raman gets his grip on a blaster pistol stored on his belt.

They come freezing to a halt with Marcus holding his vibroblade only inches from Raman's neck, while the blaster pistol was still partway in Raman's belt. They both knew who the winner was in this outcome, and so did the announcer.

"Victory belongs to the younger brother: Marcus Sohl!" he shouts.

The crowd erupts in applause at the announcement, Je'ric and Ravella both pleased at the impressive display shown by their two children, while Count Drezden and Matthenus Rau are more subtle in expressing that they were impressed by the clear skill in the two despite their differing skillsets. Down in the arena, Marcus pulls away his vibroblade with a grin underneath his helmet, helping Raman to his feet.

"Well, I guess that's that," he remarks smugly.

"Alright, whatever, you win," Raman grumbles halfheartedly, but not with any bit of anger or annoyance. "At least I get to sit down now."

"Yeah, real shame for me, I have to stand," Marcus jokes in reply.

Raman and Marcus both pull of their helmets, offer each other small smiles and a nod, and then Raman makes his way out of the arena and up into the stands, where Aathias was already making her way down.

"And now for the final contestants, to determine who truly is the greatest upcoming warrior in the Clan: Aathias Doojor and Marcus Sohl!"

The gathered Mandalorians all express their excitement with cheers and shouts of encouragement, louder than ever before. Aathias steps forward into the arena, she and her both offering small waves to the crowd before facing each other. They both put their helmets on, readying themselves for the fight. Raman watches on in the stands, a little disappointed at not being able to be in the final round, but still excited for the fight regardless.

"Ready to lose?" Aathias asks. "Your Mom is watching."

"You're very cocky. No wonder you and Raman like each other," he shoots back, amused.

Underneath her helmet, Aathias rolls her eyes in exasperation.

"Warriors, prepare yourselves," Drezden states. "Begin!"

Aathias instantly moves into action, rushing towards Marcus. She engages with quick punches, jabs, and kicks, all of which he quickly ducks away from or deflects himself. The two go back and forth, and she leaps into the air with a high kick. He ducks underneath her foot and retaliates with his own kick, catching her in the abdomen. She tumbles backwards into a roll and then instantly gets back to her feet, lunging towards him. Marcus attempts to punch her, but she slips past his arm and grabs it, twisting. Aathias then kicks her leg out, swiping him off his feet. Marcus slams onto his back with a groan but responds by rolling away from her as she attempts to pin him. He charges forwards and tackles her to the ground, but she grabs him and throws him overhead.

Marcus jumps back to his feet, but Aathias then makes use of her jetpack and launches herself into the air. She shoots towards him and thrusts a hand out, using her vambraces to unleash a repulsor blast. Marcus falls onto his back as she hits him, cursing under his breath. He gets to his feet and she passes by again, shooting a grappling line towards his foot. However he jumps over the line and then lands on top of it, grabbing it and yanking.

Aathias is pulled out of the air with a startled cry, hitting the ground. Marcus instantly rushes towards her and kicks her arm to the side as she tries to use her vambraces again, and shoves her down onto her back. Aathias brings her feet up to his chest with great agility and then kicks him off of her. Marcus hits the ground beside her, and they both quickly get back to their feet. She then rushes forwards and grabs onto his arm, flipping herself to get her legs around his neck and then yanks hard to flip him onto the ground. Marcus lands on his stomach and tries to move away, but Aathias grabs his wrists and pins them painfully behind his back, pushing down on his legs with her own to try and subdue his struggling.

"That was your Mom's favorite," she teases.

"Yeah, I noticed," Marcus grunts in reply.

He then slams his head back, hitting the front of her helmet with the back of his own. She cries out in surprise and pain, lessening her grip enough so that he can slip out of it. Marcus reaches back and grabs her arm, yanking her off of him and rolling over. He then pops up on knee with her in front of him, one arm around her neck and the other around her waist in order to keep both of her arms pinned there.

Aathias struggles against his hold viciously, lifting her legs up and kicking at him in several attempts to throw him off. Her knee strikes against Marcus several times, causing him to grunt in pain, but he relentlessly holds fast, determined to not let that stop him. And while she fought against her opponent more aggressively and with much more close successes than Kayli did, Aathias eventually concedes her defeat at the hands of the better hand-to-hand combatant, visibly slumping on the ground with a sigh.

"Fellow warriors of Clan Ordo, we have our champion of the tournament! MARCUS SOHL!" the announcer cries out loudly.

Louder than ever before, the audience erupts into cheers and applause as all of the Mandalorians present get to their feet in excitement. Marcus releases his hold on Aathias and separates from her, sitting back on the ground so that she can get to her feet. She takes a moment to regain her energy and then looks down at him in bewilderment, forgetting anything else she had to say about the fight in the moment.

"Why are you still on the ground?! You won, they're cheering for you! Show it, man!" she urges incredulously.

Marcus looks up at her, sighing quietly to himself, but still stands up and looks out at his fellow clan members. A swell of pride rushes through him at the sight of everyone cheering for him, and he waves out to them in response. It's a great moment, and he definitely feels quite happy at the accomplishment he just achieved with this victory.

He also feels empty, too.

* * *

**TRANSLATIONS:**

_riduur _\- partner, spouse, husband, wife

_jare'la_ \- stupidly oblivious of danger, asking for it

_riduurok _\- love bond, specifically between spouses - marriage agreement

_kar'taylir darasuum _\- love

_ne'johaa _\- shut up

_copikla_ \- charming, cute (babies and animals - never women unless you want your head ripped off)

_verd'ika _\- private (rank) Can be used affectionately, often to a child; *little soldier* - context is critical.

_muun'bajir _\- trounce, teach someone a lesson, *kick butt* lit: educate hard


	4. (important notice)

_**Important Notice:** Hello readers! Sorry for the late uploading schedule (once again) but I've been distracted by other things going on in my life lately. I've also come to an important decision that I think needs to be addressed regarding my stories. I've decided to put everything else on hold so that I can finish the Legacy of Jarik Shan series, as it's taken a lot longer than I originally anticipated._

_Part of this comes from the fact that maintaining my focus between several stories all at once is really hard to do, while also maintaining a continuous upload schedule. Not to mention the longer it takes to finish this story, the more it hinders my ability to progress and do things in others, specifically the Reylea storyline. There's even something in 'Secrets of Jinn' that ties directly into my plans for what the Sequel era will be like in the Shaniverse, and I don't really want to spoil it prematurely. (in Mysteries of Reylea, dancing around certain things to try and not spoil LOJS V5 is becoming a bit frustrating, and I don't think it helps that story to avoid things like this)_

_So anyways, all of my stories aside from the Legacy of Jarik Shan (V5 of course, then V2 and V1), is not going to receive any more updates until I finish V5. It may be a bit disappointing, but I think this is the best way to move forward without ruining the overall storyline. There are things that will be revealed in V5 that are absolutely essential to know for everything to make sense going forward. __I hope you all will understand my reasoning, and here's to hoping I can finish up V5 very soon! I'm planning to have it completed at the very latest by the end of the summer._

* * *

_**Author's Note: **This update message will be removed once "LOJS V5: Rebirth" is completed._


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